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Other errors in M*A*S*H
There are a number of errors that are not Anachronisms or continuity errors, some of which can easily be explained. Errors from Internet Movie Database Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers) *In one episode, Col. Potter remarks "...and they called WWII the big war." Actually, WWI was called "The Big War" **Many people who lived through it could reasonably argue that World War II was a bigger conflict, and therefore more deserving of the name, than WWI. Incorrectly regarded as goofs *Throughout the entire series, the nurses referred to as "Baker" have been different women, including one (in contrast) black woman, some (in contrast) single women, and a married one, whose husband Tony spends the night with her in Hotlips' tent. **Baker is a popular American name, and could have been shared by more than one person in the 501st. Errors from Movie Mistakes Corrections *Wouldn't Col. Flagg arouse suspicion to his superiors by regularly visiting an American medical unit? He wouldn't have been given orders on every occasion to check it out, and both Blake and Potter would likely have complained about his attitude towards their doctors (especially Hawkeye). **''Corrected by OneHappyHusky'' Because Flagg was supposed to be an intelligence officer and only appeared in 6 episodes between 1974-1979 it is likely his visits may not have gained much attention from superiors and he would probably often work unsupervised and somewhat undirected. As for Blake and Potter, as well as the rest of the MASH unit, Flagg was largely considered a joke and hardly worth the effort to seriously bother over. *Throughout the series, several PA announcements are heard around camp, voiced by Sal Viscuso or Todd Susman. However, we never see anyone but Radar or Klinger manning the PA system, and as it is based in the clerk's office, it would seem odd for someone else to come in to make the announcements. **''Corrected by Bob Blumenfeld'' Too much of an assumption. I think this unknown soldier falls into the category I call "Invisible Characters": those people on some TV shows who are nearby, but are never seen. Among such characters are Pete's wife Gladys on December Bride, Carlton, the doorman on Rhoda, Norm's wife Vera on Cheers and, of course, Niles' wife Maris on Frasier. *To show the horrors of war, Alan Alda had it written into his contract that there had to be at least one scene in each episode that took place inside the operating room. The exception is the episode 'Hawkeye', of season 4, where after Pierce is injured in a jeep accident the episode takes place at a Korean family's home. **Also, in the 4th season episode "The Bus" there is no scene in an operating room. However, the doctors do treat the Korean soldier's leg injury on the bus. *Trapper John and Hawkeye have a gin still in the Swamp. Distilling gin requires a constant supply of freshwater, large amounts of juniper berries, coriander (and other flavourings), magnesium carbonate, and potassium carbonate. Burnt alum and pipe clay are needed for filtering. Where do they manage to find these things in war-torn Korea in the Fifties? **''Corrected by Zwn Annwn'' They are in a MASH unit. They could probably order most of the stuff as medical supplies. Some of the flavorings could be from the black market or sent from home. Also, they CALL it gin - but everyone pretty much agrees that it is mostly rotgut hootch - therefore, there are a lot of things that can be used for flavoring. *I don't know the episode number; I have seen it a few times. Hawkeye is in the Col office with a few of the boys, they have a discussion and Hawkeye says "here's to 1984". Seeing the Korean war ended in 1953. **He is making a sarcastic toast to the political and social situation in Korea during the war, comparing to the dystopian world of Orwell's "1984". *In the opening title sequence the two helicopters go in front of the mountain. If you watch the lead helicopter very carefully when it first goes in front of the mountain it disappears for a split second and reappears. **This is not correct. It is merely the angle and the cropping of the shot. The two helicopters do come together, then the shot changes for a split second, and in later episodes/series the cropping of the shot shows only one helicopter. However, in earlier episodes/series the shot is not cropped so tightly, and when it changes the second helicopter is very close to screen right and disappears off screen almost instantaneously. *It seems Colonel Potter has a love hate relationship with artillery/guns at the MASH. First, Potter orders Hawkeye to get rid of an artillery piece he received in lieu of payment of a gambling debt, for fear it will attract fire. In "Hey Doc", however, he loves the idea of having a tank in the compound to scare off snipers, with no concern that it too may attract fire. By the final episode, however, he again has an aversion to guns as he tires desperately to get a tank, left in the compound by a wounded member of the tank crew, removed as it is drawing fire. **The circumstances of the listed occasions are quite different. In case of Hawkeye's gun and the damaged tank, Colonel Potter does not want the camp to appear to be armed for fear of becoming a "valid military target" despite the red cross. In the sniper episode however, the camp already IS under fire, so Potter tries to find a remedy. A tank as a countermeasure to snipers actually makes sense from a military point of view: They can't hurt it, but it can hurt them. In my opinion, Potter is balancing risk against profit here. This is not a plot hole. *In many episodes throughout the show, much is made of the supposedly extreme weather the people of the MASH unit faced (especially in "The Interview," the final episode of season four). In actual fact, Korea is in the temperate zone. Although high humidity would have made winter temps seem colder and summer temps hotter, staff from many places in the states would not find these extreme in the least. You can check out the temps at www.rao-osan.com/osan-info/korea/climate.htm. **Korean winters might usually be merely cold rather than bitter, but the winter of 1950 was bitter. Additionally, a lot of the fighting in that year was in the interior at high altitudes; Chosin Reservoir is about 1,000 m ASL. And at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, the mercury bottomed out at -35°F (-37°C) - only 10°F warmer than the record lowest temperature ever recorded in Korea. Troops were fighting out in the open in these conditions, with little of no shelter, for some 11 days. And that's just the lowest temperature recorded by a trained meteorologist; some unofficial thermometers at the hospital broke the -50 mark. Category:Error pages